Yeah, I think mentioning this in the ESRB's decision to re-rate Oblivion was probably the worst decision they have ever made. If they'd re-rated it due to violent content then fine, but instead they mentioned this, and then, with their usual complete failure to understand the technology they were attacking, the anti-game crowd latched onto it.
Very bad move Ms Vance. I can only hope you learn from your mistakes.
But hey, people like Thompson and Yee seem to think they can dictate what is right or wrong to the entire planet, that's not an ego trip in the slightest....
The ESRB is currently under fire, and politicians are deciding that video games need to be regulated because the industry is not doing a good enough job itself.
In any case, the ESRB needs to show that it has teeth. It needs to show that it can be a "tough" and "in charge" to politicians. So maybe next time they get brought in front of some committee they can say something instead of, "Well it's a mod..."
Is it right? Not really.
But to people who don't understand programming, modding, and gaming... All they see are boobies.
So let me get this right...lightwarriorrJuly 14 2006, 13:17:27 UTC
Bethesda Softworks made the content and all the modder had to do was unlock like as stated in the artical a near hot-coffie event?
Is this another one of those attempts to get mature content in a game while dodging an adult only rating? Like how some movies cut out content in the final production to dodge the NC-17+ rating?
Re: So let me get this right...goodrobotusJuly 14 2006, 14:10:02 UTC
No, from what I understand the texture used is simply the topless male model, the modder simply removed the polygons that made up the bra of the female model, it was absolutely impossible to access that without downloading the third party mod with the modified mesh. Content wasn't removed before release, it was merely modified by a third party after release.
Re: So let me get this right...raignmakerJuly 14 2006, 14:26:11 UTC
In a movie theater you have no opportunity to alter the the content you are given (unless you count audience participation). If a movie is rated R, and they cut stuff out to get that rating, you will never see the footage they cut. I am not counting DVD's since many of them are now unrated.
So to work from your analogy, you would be correct in relating the two situations if...
1. You found this secret footage "somewhere", and spliced it back into the film.
2. (In the context of the analogy) This new footage can only be seen by you, since you are the original "modder", so you now need to convince other people to do the same thing in order to see the same stuff you can see. Then, I can see how your movie would deserve an NC 17 rating...
I actually agree with the game being re-rated. Not because of the mod, but because there is too much realistic blood in the game to merit a T rating.
For those of you who haven't played the game (and why haven't you?), when you strike an enemy, the nearby surface usually gets covered in blood. And when the use a blade, mists of blood will spray from your enemies. It's not gratituous or anything, but if Halo 2 could get an M rating, I don't see why Oblivion shouldn't.
Now, I do believe the mod was partly responsible as it drew negative attention to the game. Thus, Bethesda must have thought "Hey, there're calling for us to re-rate our game. Since the violence is M-rated, we might as well do so. And since violence=okay and boobies=EVIL, we should cite the mod as our reason to show that we didn't rate the game wrong originally."
My final take on this? It was the right move for the wrong reason. I just hope we don't see more companies giving in to pressure over mods.
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Yeah, I think mentioning this in the ESRB's decision to re-rate Oblivion was probably the worst decision they have ever made. If they'd re-rated it due to violent content then fine, but instead they mentioned this, and then, with their usual complete failure to understand the technology they were attacking, the anti-game crowd latched onto it.
Very bad move Ms Vance. I can only hope you learn from your mistakes.
But hey, people like Thompson and Yee seem to think they can dictate what is right or wrong to the entire planet, that's not an ego trip in the slightest....
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In any case, the ESRB needs to show that it has teeth. It needs to show that it can be a "tough" and "in charge" to politicians. So maybe next time they get brought in front of some committee they can say something instead of, "Well it's a mod..."
Is it right? Not really.
But to people who don't understand programming, modding, and gaming... All they see are boobies.
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Is this another one of those attempts to get mature content in a game while dodging an adult only rating? Like how some movies cut out content in the final production to dodge the NC-17+ rating?
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So to work from your analogy, you would be correct in relating the two situations if...
1. You found this secret footage "somewhere", and spliced it back into the film.
2. (In the context of the analogy) This new footage can only be seen by you, since you are the original "modder", so you now need to convince other people to do the same thing in order to see the same stuff you can see. Then, I can see how your movie would deserve an NC 17 rating...
Silly, no?
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For those of you who haven't played the game (and why haven't you?), when you strike an enemy, the nearby surface usually gets covered in blood. And when the use a blade, mists of blood will spray from your enemies. It's not gratituous or anything, but if Halo 2 could get an M rating, I don't see why Oblivion shouldn't.
Now, I do believe the mod was partly responsible as it drew negative attention to the game. Thus, Bethesda must have thought "Hey, there're calling for us to re-rate our game. Since the violence is M-rated, we might as well do so. And since violence=okay and boobies=EVIL, we should cite the mod as our reason to show that we didn't rate the game wrong originally."
My final take on this? It was the right move for the wrong reason. I just hope we don't see more companies giving in to pressure over mods.
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Because my xbox lacks the "360"...
and my bank account lacks a positvie balance.
Good points though, and I agree.
Right decision, wrong reason.
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and my bank account lacks a positvie balance.
Oh, right. Be sure to pick one up as soon as you get the funds. It's damn well worth it.
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